The Rivers State Police Command on Tuesday invited the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, for questioning over the death of a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporter who was allegedly shot during a protest in Port Harcourt on Monday. The PDP supporters had gathered at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office on Aba Road, demanding a joint inspection of the documents used for the March 18 governorship election. The protest turned violent.
Cole, accompanied by the state APC Chairman Emeka Beke and a few other party leaders, arrived at the GRA junction on Aba Road on Monday to proceed to the INEC office, where the commission had promised to allow the party to inspect the Certified True Copy documents for tribunal purposes. Upon learning that Cole was nearby, the protesters rushed toward him, pelting him with water sachets and stones. Cole’s security detail shielded him; without their protection, he could have been mobbed. In a later interview, Cole said, “They slapped me, they pushed me, threw stones at me and I was injured on my back.”
A clash ensued between Cole’s security team and the youths, resulting in indiscriminate gunfire by the security operatives to disperse the crowd. Some thugs also fired indiscriminately, and a PDP supporter was hit in the crossfire. The injured man bled profusely from his left leg and was rushed to the hospital, where, according to PDP State Publicity Secretary Sydney Gbara, he later died. “From the information we are hearing now, the man is dead,” Gbara said.
When contacted, State Commissioner of Police Okon Effiong confirmed via text that Cole had been invited, stating, “It is just an invitation.” On Monday, a video showed Cole shouting and calling on the Commissioner of Police to rescue him at the APC secretariat, claiming that thugs had laid siege to the party’s office on Woji Road, GRA, Port Harcourt. A formal letter inviting Cole was reportedly sent to the state APC secretariat.
State APC Publicity Secretary Darlington Nwauju, who confirmed that Cole was invited for questioning, questioned why the police had not invited the PDP leaders named in the attack on the APC candidate. “It is shocking that the police are inviting our candidate, Cole, for questioning over a said killing. What is the identity of the person killed? They attacked and chased us away. They are now inviting him (Cole) for questioning. How? Does it add up?” he asked.
State APC Chairman Chief Emeka Beke, who said he had not yet seen any invitation, dismissed the move as laughable. “There were just seven of us and they were many. They did not even allow us to get to the INEC office. Just by the GRA junction, they started attacking us. At what point will anybody kill somebody?” he remarked.
Comments are closed for this story.